A typical measurement system including, for example, a plurality of receivers or/and transmitters is limited by its ability to sense or measure a dynamic range of received or transmitted signals. As illustrated in FIG. 1, a measurement system 100 according to the prior art, comprising a single receive port 101 connected to an attenuator 102 and an amplifier 104 is configured to measure the properties of received signals 108, such as power, spectral content, etc. The instantaneous dynamic range of the receiver may be inadequate for the intended range of target signals, spanning, for example, from low power communication signals to high power radar pulses. A typical solution to this is to put a variable attenuation in front of the receiver, and to select the attenuation according to the received signal strength.
However, in a scenario where several high power signals are transmitted towards the measurement system 100, it will not be able to measure all the transmitted signals in real time, in particular those which are not in its “capability range” due to the system fixed “attenuation” limitation. This limitation relates also to a transmitting device and system where each output/input port has a limited transmitting range.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a measurement system, such as a microwave imaging or radar system, that overcomes the problems of the prior art measurement systems.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a measurement system and method configured to receive or transmit a dynamically range of signals.
It is further another object of the present invention to provide a method and device configured to attenuate the output of the device transmitter in order to reduce the noise floor at the transmitter output.
It is an advantage of the present invention that one or more receiver/transmitter may simultaneously receive/transmit an enhanced dynamic range of signals.
According to the present system, a measurement system may be or may include a sensor system, such as a microwave sensing system or a radar system.
According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a receiver with extended instantaneous dynamic range, said receiver comprising: at least one input port, said input port being configured to receive signals; a primary receiver coupled to said input port via a primary path; and a plurality of auxiliary receivers, wherein said plurality of auxiliary receivers are coupled to said input port via secondary paths, and wherein the attenuation of each of said secondary paths is higher than the attenuation of said primary path.
In an embodiment, the signals are of dynamic range higher than can be accommodated by either the primary receiver or auxiliary receivers.
In an embodiment, the difference in the attenuation of said primary path and the secondary path with lowest attenuation is in the range of 6 to 20 dB.
In an embodiment, the plurality of auxiliary receivers are coupled to the primary port by a plurality of directional couplers.
In an embodiment, the primary receiver is coupled to the at least one input port via a directional coupler through line.
In an embodiment, the plurality of auxiliary receivers are coupled to the input port via a power splitter for splitting said signals.
In an embodiment, the power splitter is an asymmetric power splitter.
In an embodiment, the primary path is a low-attenuation path.
In an embodiment, the outputs of the primary receiver and outputs of the auxiliary receivers are further combined to obtain a single output.
In an embodiment, the combining is performed digitally on digitized outputs of the primary receiver and auxiliary receivers.
In an embodiment, the combining is a weighted sum of the primary receiver and auxiliary receivers' outputs.
In an embodiment, the weights of the weighted sum are related to the signals strength.
According to a second aspect of some embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a transmitter with extended instantaneous dynamic range, said transmitter comprising: at least one output port, said output port being configured to transmit signals; a primary transmitter coupled to said port via a primary path; and a plurality of auxiliary transmitters, wherein said plurality of auxiliary transmitters are coupled to said output port via a secondary path, and wherein the attenuation of each of said secondary paths is higher than the attenuation of said primary path.
In an embodiment, the signals are of dynamic range higher than can be accommodated by either the primary transmitter or auxiliary transmitters.
In an embodiment, the difference in the attenuation of said primary path and the secondary path with lowest attenuation is in the range of 6 to 20 dB.
In an embodiment, the plurality of auxiliary transmitters are coupled to said primary port by a plurality of directional couplers.
In an embodiment, the primary transmitter is coupled to said at least one output port via a directional coupler through line.
In an embodiment, the plurality of auxiliary transmitters are coupled to said port via a power splitter for splitting said plurality of signals.
In an embodiment, the power splitter is an asymmetric power splitter.
According to a third aspect of some embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a method for increasing the dynamic power sensing range of a sensing device, said sensing device comprising a plurality of auxiliary transmitters or receivers and at least one port coupled to a primary transmitter or receiver, said method comprising: coupling said plurality of auxiliary transmitters or receivers to said primary transmitter or receiver; and attenuating said auxiliary transmitters' or receivers' power.
Unless otherwise defined, all technical and/or scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the invention pertains. Although methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of embodiments of the invention, exemplary methods and/or materials are described below. In case of conflict, the patent specification, including definitions, will control. In addition, the materials, methods, and examples are illustrative only and are not intended to be necessarily limiting.
Implementation of the method and/or system of embodiments of the invention can involve performing or completing selected tasks manually, automatically, or a combination thereof. Moreover, according to actual instrumentation and equipment of embodiments of the method and/or system of the invention, several selected tasks could be implemented by hardware, by software or by firmware or by a combination thereof using an operating system.
For example, hardware for performing selected tasks, according to embodiments of the invention, could be implemented as a chip or a circuit. As software, selected tasks according to embodiments of the invention could be implemented as a plurality of software instructions being executed by a computer using any suitable operating system. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, one or more tasks according to exemplary embodiments of method and/or system as described herein, are performed by a data processor, such as a computing platform for executing a plurality of instructions. Optionally, the data processor includes a volatile memory for storing instructions and/or data and/or a non-volatile storage, for example, a magnetic hard-disk and/or removable media, for storing instructions and/or data. Optionally, a network connection is provided as well. A display and/or a user input device such as a keyboard or mouse are optionally provided as well.